Good Morning, Bulgaria
It is 11:08 am on Sunday, July 2nd, and I am writing this entry from a train somewhere in Bulgaria. The study abroad program ended on Friday, and we all went our separate ways. Megan and Rachel left for 12 days in Germany, Ravi and Jack for a month in Brussels, and everyone else headed home. My train left Istanbul at 10 pm Saturday, so I had one last day at Koc and a final evening in Istanbul. I got to the train station two hours early and had dinner and apple tea in a little outdoor restaurant near the Sirkeci Station. The table where I sat was in the shadow of a small mosque, which meant that I was able to listen to the call to prayer one last time.
When I boarded the train, I was pleased to discover that I had a compartment to myself. I reserved a bed in a second-class sleeping car (second class means three of four beds), and I had been a bit worried about sharing a compartment with two strangers. Once I got settled on the train, I met the two young men in the next compartment over, Matthew and Dan from England. They have a Eurorail pass for a month, and they have been traveling all around Europe for about two and a half weeks, staying one or two nights in each city, and spending about as many nights on trains. We chatted for a while, and I told them about Alex’s request for a Peter Crouch World Cup jersey. They filled me in on ‘the Crouch’ as they called him, and they even demonstrated the robot dance that he does after scoring a goal.
At about 3 am, we finally reached the Turkish boarder. We were instructed to take our passports and get off the train. I did so, taking my purse, containing most of my valuables, with me. When we got to the platform, the immigration window was not open. For some reason, we could not go through customs, and so we waited, milling around with no explanation for the delay. After about five minutes, it really began to bother me that my computer was still in my unlocked compartment (you can only lock them from the inside), so I went back to the train to get it. When I returned, the situation had not changed. The situation did not change for a total of TWO HOURS, after which they finally opened the customs office, and we formed a line. It was 6 am before we finally left the station, so I think we might be two hours behind schedule. Thankfully we did not need to disembark on the Bulgarian side. They simply stopped the train for about an hour and took our passports, while we were treated to the delightful early morning sounds of loud Bulgarian children playing on the platform. So there is the story of my journey thus far. I finally got a few hours sleep after we crossed into Bulgaria, but according to my original ticket (and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were two hours late) I still have about six and a half hours before I reach Bucuresti. Which means I might finally get my blog up to date!
When I boarded the train, I was pleased to discover that I had a compartment to myself. I reserved a bed in a second-class sleeping car (second class means three of four beds), and I had been a bit worried about sharing a compartment with two strangers. Once I got settled on the train, I met the two young men in the next compartment over, Matthew and Dan from England. They have a Eurorail pass for a month, and they have been traveling all around Europe for about two and a half weeks, staying one or two nights in each city, and spending about as many nights on trains. We chatted for a while, and I told them about Alex’s request for a Peter Crouch World Cup jersey. They filled me in on ‘the Crouch’ as they called him, and they even demonstrated the robot dance that he does after scoring a goal.
At about 3 am, we finally reached the Turkish boarder. We were instructed to take our passports and get off the train. I did so, taking my purse, containing most of my valuables, with me. When we got to the platform, the immigration window was not open. For some reason, we could not go through customs, and so we waited, milling around with no explanation for the delay. After about five minutes, it really began to bother me that my computer was still in my unlocked compartment (you can only lock them from the inside), so I went back to the train to get it. When I returned, the situation had not changed. The situation did not change for a total of TWO HOURS, after which they finally opened the customs office, and we formed a line. It was 6 am before we finally left the station, so I think we might be two hours behind schedule. Thankfully we did not need to disembark on the Bulgarian side. They simply stopped the train for about an hour and took our passports, while we were treated to the delightful early morning sounds of loud Bulgarian children playing on the platform. So there is the story of my journey thus far. I finally got a few hours sleep after we crossed into Bulgaria, but according to my original ticket (and I wouldn’t be surprised if we were two hours late) I still have about six and a half hours before I reach Bucuresti. Which means I might finally get my blog up to date!
posted by Erin Kay at 7:54 PM
1 Comments:
DO THE CROUCH
I heard Alex is sweet at it
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